The Nothing Ear is the fourth release by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei's follow-up venture, Nothing. Not to be confused with the original Nothing Ear (1), these active noise cancelling (ANC) earbuds build upon the foundation of the previous iterations in the brand's stemmed designs with small tweaks to battery life and ceramic drivers. Let's see how these refinements play out when you use the buds.
Our Verdict
The Nothing Ear are great for sports and fitness. The buds have an IP54 rating, and the case is IP55-rated, meaning they'll withstand rain and dusty trails. They're comfortable and stable for most people, but if your ears are hard to fit, they lack additional stabilizers or over-ear hooks. They're also very portable and wireless, so you can easily take them with you to the gym or for a jog. The sound profile works well for all kinds of music to motivate your workout and podcasts. Since they're noise cancelling earbuds, you can choose to block out the racket of the gym as well.
- Balanced sound profile with tweakable EQ.
- Water and dust resistant.
- Comfortable and stable fit.
Lacks additional stabilizers or over-ear hooks.
The Nothing Ear are good for travel. They're comfortable, portable, and water- and dust-resistant, making them good for short commutes and longer trips. Although their continuous battery life is a weak point and won't necessarily last inter-continental flights, the case holds additional charges to tie you over. The sound profile suits most music and podcasts well, and you can EQ it to taste too. Their noise cancellation helps block out engine rumble, airplane cabin din, and chit-chat, though it's not the most powerful ANC, it's still effective.
- Balanced sound profile with tweakable EQ.
- Water and dust resistant.
- Comfortable and stable fit.
- Adjustable ANC.
- Latency is high.
Continuous battery life isn't long enough for everyone.
The Nothing Ear are satisfactory for office work. Their lightweight fit is comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The mic system works decently for work calls, though it's not a replacement for a professional mic. The Bluetooth multi-pair makes it easier to swap between devices at work. Their sound profile works well for all kinds of music and audio content, and you can EQ them too. That said, their ANC performance is decent but not class-leading, but they'll cut out HVAC noise and office chatter well.
- Balanced sound profile with tweakable EQ.
- Comfortable and stable fit.
- Adjustable ANC.
- Latency is high.
- Mic sounds thin.
Continuous battery life isn't long enough for everyone.
The Nothing Ear aren't recommended for wireless gaming due to their Bluetooth-only connection. They support low-latency codec LHDC, but the performance will depend on compatibility with your device.
The Nothing Ear wireless earbuds don't support a wired connection.
The Nothing Ear have decent audio reproduction accuracy. The smooth frequency response is warm, offering a touch of extra low-end, a clear mid-range, and a somewhat warm treble that follows our target curve well. You can use the app's in-depth graphic EQ and EQ presets to adjust the sound, too. The drivers are well-matched, though you might find that mid-range sounds like vocals feel pulled slightly to one side.
The Nothing Ear are good for noise isolation. Their ANC does a decent job of cutting out low-pitched noises like engine rumble and ambient din. You can adjust the ANC's strength to suit your environment, too. The buds also don't leak much noise into your space either.
The Nothing Ear have a decent microphone. The audio captured isn't completely true-to-life sounding, but your voice is still intelligible. The mic system separates your voice from background noise well, so you can take calls in noisy public areas.
The Nothing Ear have very good frequency response consistency. They playback bass through treble regions similarly across fittings. The app's fit test can also help you find the correct-sized ear tips.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Apr 20, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.2, which removes the Cumulative Spectral Decay (CSD) test, retiring its waterfall plot visualization from our reviews. You can read more about this change in the changelog.
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Updated Apr 14, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
- Updated Apr 09, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1, which features minor updates to our sound tests.
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Updated Feb 27, 2026:
The Sound Profile section was updated to mention the Nothing Ear (3).
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Nothing Ear buds come in 'Black' and 'White' variants, which we expect to perform the same. Our unit is the 'White' colorway. See their label.
If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
This brand's naming convention can be a little confusing. You would think that these buds would be called the Nothing Ear 3 because they succeed the (1) and (2), but they've dropped the numbers altogether. The Nothing Ear represent more of an iterative update rather than a completely revised product compared to the previous Nothing Ear (2). They look almost the same, and both boast generally balanced sound profiles with tweakable EQ and personalization. However, the Ear have the upper hand with a longer battery life and improved noise cancellation. That said, if it's a more value-driven, pared-back set of buds you want, the Nothing Ear (a) offer a similar sound profile, design, and ANC but skimp out a bit on the mic and battery.
If you can't get on board with the pinch-control design of the Nothing Ear buds, the OnePlus Buds 3 have more conventional touch and slide controls. That said, the OnePlus don't have water or dust resistance for their case and also have a slightly shorter continuous battery life. Still, they're a bit more stable in your ear than the Nothing buds, and they have similarly capable ANC.
For more ideas, check out the best noise cancelling earbuds, the best wireless earbuds for Android, and the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds.
Overall, the Nothing Ear are better than the Nothing Ear (a) but only incrementally. These have more in common than they have differences, but the Ear have a greater IP rating, custom sound based on your hearing, a longer battery life, LHDC codec support, and a slightly better mic. On the other hand, the Ear (a) boast similar ANC performance and sound, which is appealing if you don't use the mic or need a long battery. Still, it's clear that minor omissions to the feature set in the app and codec selection make the Ear (a) the budget-oriented alternative, but if you have no plans to take advantage of those, they're possibly a better buy.
Choosing between the Nothing Ear and their successor, the Nothing Ear (3) depends on your priorities. They have more in common than not, but the Ear have a longer continuous battery life at 7.5 hours and a more reserved bass response that matches our target better overall. In contrast, the Ear (3)'s mic system is better (and there's a secondary mic system in the case). They're tuned with far more low-end and a brighter treble, which is polarizing. You can EQ either model, though. Their ANC is improved, too. They also come with a spatial audio feature. All that said, if you need a long-lasting set of buds, the 5.3-hour continuous battery life is a step backwards from the previous Ear.
The Nothing Ear are more upscale than the CMF Buds Pro 2, though their shared parent company means many features, including the app, are the same. The Nothing boast a more balanced sound signature by default with a more in-depth graphic equalizer for tinkerers. Their battery life is slightly longer, and they're slightly better built, too. On the other hand, the CMF offer a bit more powerful noise isolation overall. Other differences are dependent on taste, such as pinch controls on the Nothing or touch controls on the CMF.
The Nothing Ear are very similar to the Nothing Ear (2) with some small improvements. They both fit about the same with almost identical cases and they sound fairly similar. Both have plenty of the same app features, such as EQ and multi-device pairing. The Ear also have slightly better noise isolation and a better battery life. Still, the Ear (2) have enough similarities that you don't necessarily need to upgrade immediately.
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Test Results
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